Calaveras appeals to governor to veto ban on lead bullets

SAN ANDREAS - Calaveras County Board of Supervisors to Gov. Jerry Brown: Don't get the lead out.

Dana M. Nichols

SAN ANDREAS - Calaveras County Board of Supervisors to Gov. Jerry Brown: Don't get the lead out.

More specifically, the board voted unanimously Tuesday to ask Brown to oppose AB711, a bill awaiting his signature that would ban the use of lead-containing ammunition for hunting game in California.

The state already bans the use of lead ammunition for certain types of hunting, in particular in condor habitat. Lead contamination from bullets or shot in the bodies of dead animals was found to be present in toxic levels in condors and other carrion eaters in those areas, scientists say.

But in Calaveras County, where many residents hunt and own guns, the idea of a total ban on using lead ammunition for hunting is a non-starter.

For one thing, non-lead bullets such as those made of steel or copper are in short supply. Also, a bullet made from a harder metal would often pierce the body of an animal, causing it to die a slow death. Soft lead slugs typically spread after impact, putting all their force into an animal's body and killing them more quickly, said Supervisor Cliff Edson.

Edson voiced the suspicion of many residents that rather than being a measure to protect the environment from the toxicity of lead, the law is actually a roundabout way to undermine gun rights.

"If you take away the ammunition, you take away the weapon," Edson said.

The Calaveras County Fish and Game Commission recently recommended that the Board of Supervisors send Brown a letter asking the governor to oppose the bill.

Supervisor Debbie Ponte at the end of Tuesday's meeting asked the board to take up the matter. She noted that the bill, known formally as AB711, will become law in a matter of days unless Brown decides to reject it.

Because it was not on the regular agenda, the board first had to vote unanimously to take it up as an urgency matter.

Assemblyman Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, authored the bill, and Assemblyman Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, who represents Lodi in northern San Joaquin County, was a co-sponsor.

Bill supporters argue that environmental lead exposure is a proven source of danger to humans and wildlife and that ammunition is the second largest use of lead in the United States after batteries.

If AB711 is signed into law, California would become the first state to ban all lead ammunition for hunting. Law enforcement agencies would still be able to use lead ammunition even when hunting wildlife. And target shooters would also be able to use traditional lead ammo.

The National Rifle Association has opposed the proposed ban on lead ammunition for hunting and has rejected claims that lead fragments in the carcases of hunted animals is poisoning carrion eaters or poses a danger to humans.